Panzerkampfwagen III

The Panzerkampfwagen III was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and serve alongside the infantry-supporting Panzer IV. However, as the Germans faced the formidable T-34, stronger anti-tank guns were needed. Since the Panzer IV had a bigger turret ring, the role was reversed. The Panzer IV mounted the long barreled 7.5 cm KwK 40 gun and engaged in tank-to-tank battles. The Panzer III became obsolete in this role and for most purposes was supplanted by the Panzer IV. From 1942, the last version of Panzer III mounted the 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24, better suited for infantry support. Production of the Panzer III ended in 1943. However, the Panzer III's capable chassis provided hulls for the Sturmgeschütz III until the end of the war.

Pzkpfw III variants in Forgotten Hope Secret Weapon

Ausf. E	Ausf. G	Ausf. J "early"	Ausf. J "late" (Ausf. J¹)	Ausf. L	Ausf. M	Ausf. N	Flammpanzer III

Ausf. E

Panzer III Ausf. E
General Historical Information
Category	Medium Tank
Debut in FHSW	v0.6
Main armament	37mm KwK36
Coaxial weapon	2x MG34
General Ingame Information
Seat 2	MG34
Historical Picture

The earliest variant of the Panzer III in fhsw. It is the fastest and is most suited for infantry support rather than fighting other tanks since the cannon isn't that powerful against vehicles but the twin machineguns make it more effective against infantry, essentially doubling the rate of fire. The speed also helps to avoid enemy tanks and to take favorable engagements.

Ausf. G

Panzer III Ausf. G
General Historical Information
Category	Medium Tank
Debut in FHSW	v0.6
Main armament	50mm KwK 38 L/42
Coaxial weapon	MG34
General Ingame Information
Seat 2	7.92 mm MG 34
Historical Picture

The G variant is essentially a more armoured and up gunned variant of the E variant. Unlike the E variant it isnt as fast and neither are the following variants of the Panzer 3.

Ausf. J "early"

Panzer III Ausf. J "early"
General Historical Information
Place of origin	Germany
Category	Medium tank
Speed	40 km/h
Armour	210px
Main armament	5 cm KwK 38 L/42 92 shells
Coaxial weapon	7.92 mm MG 34 17 x 150 rounds
General Ingame Information
Used by	Germany
Crew in‑game	2
Seat 2	7.92 mm MG 34 8 x 250 rounds
Historical Picture

The Ausf. J is a variant of the Panzer III in the mod, but is just know as the Pzkpfw Ausf J while there is another Ausf J version (see Ausf. J¹). This model had a solid 50-millimetre (1.97 in) plate on the front and rear. The Ausf. A to early Ausf. F were equipped with a 3.7 cm KwK 36 L/46.5 which proved adequate during the campaigns of 1939 and 1940 but the later Ausf. F to Ausf. J were upgraded with the 5 cm KwK 38 L/42.

Ausf. J¹

Panzer III Ausf. J
General Historical Information
Place of origin	Germany
Category	Medium tank
Speed	40 km/h
Main armament	5 cm KwK 39 L/60 92 shells
Coaxial weapon	7.92 mm MG 34 17 x 150 rounds
General Ingame Information
Used by	Germany Italy
Crew in‑game	2
Seat 2	7.92 mm MG 34 8 x 250 rounds
Historical Picture

Know as the Pzkpfw III Ausf J in the mod, this is the late Ausf. J. While the Ausf. J model has a 5 cm KwK 38 L/42, the later Ausf. J variants were upgraded with the longer 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 cannon in response to increasingly better armed and armoured opponents.

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Ausf. L

Panzer III Ausf. L
General Historical Information
Place of origin	Germany
Category	Medium tank
Speed	40 km/h
Main armament	5 cm KwK 39 L/60 92 shells
General Ingame Information
Used by	Germany
Seat 2	7.92 mm MG 34 8 x 250 rounds
Historical Picture

While the Ausf. J models got an armor of 50 mm, the Ausf. L model had an additional layer of 20 mm of armor on the front hull and turret. This additional frontal armor gave the Panzer III frontal protection from most British and Soviet anti-tank guns at all but close ranges. The sides were still vulnerable to many enemy weapons including anti-tank rifles at close ranges.

Ausf. M

Panzer III Ausf. M
General Historical Information
Place of origin	Germany
Designer	Daimler-Benz
Manufacturer	Daimler-Benz
Produced In	1942 - 1943
Category	Medium tank
Debut in FHSW	Debut in Fh Mod
Speed	40 km/h
Armour	5–70 mm
Main armament	5 cm KwK 39 L/60 (92 rounds)
Coaxial weapon	7.92 mm MG 34 (80 rounds)
General Ingame Information
Used by	Germany
Crew in‑game	3
Ammunition	APHE & APCR (Random)
Seat 2	Smoke Grenade Projectors (6 grenades)
Seat 3	7.92 mm MG 34 (250 rounds)
Seat 4	Passenger Seat
Seat 5	Passenger Seat
Historical Picture

The Ausf M was the Ausf KL but with minor modifications such as deep-wading exhaust and Schürzen. 100 Ausf.M's were coverted by Wegmann in Kassel info Medium Flametrower tanks.

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Ausf. N

Panzer III Ausf. N
General Historical Information
Place of origin	Germany
Category	Medium tank
Speed	40 km/h
Main armament	7.5 cm KwK L/24 64 shells
General Ingame Information
Used by	Germany Italy
Ammunition	↑ HE ↓ HEAT
Seat 2	6x Smoke charges
Seat 3	7.92 mm MG 34 8 x 250 rounds
Historical Picture

The last version was the Ausf N. This was the Ausf M but armed with a short barreled 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 gun, due to 7.5 cm gun's ability to fire HEAT rounds.

External links

• Wikipedia entry